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A member of the Cowichan Tribes has been handed a pollution prevention order over a huge dumping site near Duncan, B.C., on Vancouver Island.
James Anthony Peter is ordered to immediately stop dumping waste at the site, which is just above the Cowichan River.
The dump is situated on Cowichan Tribes Reserve land near the city of Duncan.
The amount of waste is estimated to exceed 290,000 cubic metres, according to provincial documents, and includes construction and demolition debris, residential waste, derelict RV trailers, plastics and metals.
“It’s a huge, toxic soup of tires, ties, plastic… demolition debris,” community advocate Peter Rusland told Global News.
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“Cowichan River is a heritage river, and it’s a salmon river that’s sacred to the Cowichan Tribes, and many other folks around here… but with this in our midst, it’s disgusting, it’s illegal, and it’s dangerous environmentally and health-wise.”
The Ministry of Environment says the materials are known to release substances including heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron and lead.
It also says the site is producing leachate that is migrating toward the Cowichan River. That household garbage is likely affecting the digestive tracts of wildlife that feed on it.
The Ministry of Environment confirmed that no permit has ever been issued for the site.
Global News reached out to the Cowichan Tribes for comment, but did not receive a response.
Peter has also been ordered to hire a professional to develop a site remediation plan, which includes shutting down the site.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
